Convenience store clerk killed during robbery in Montgomery County

Two robbers are on the run after a beloved store owner was shot and killed during a robbery at a gas station in Cleveland

March 25, 2014 4:47:26 PM PDT

CLEVELAND, TX --

Customers of a convenience store in Cleveland are shocked and saddened after two men shot and killed the store owner during a robbery Monday night. Those men are still on the run.

Deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office say the shooting happened around 9:30pm Monday at the Shell convenience store in the 18300 block of Highway 105 East.

"He was the sweetest person ever. I don't see how anybody can hurt him," customer Alexis Banks said.

Banks couldn't hold the tears back. She and her mother, Patty Banks, were so distraught to hear the news about the loss of their friend, they had to come out and pay their respects.

"Even if you didn't have money, he would like let it slide or 'You can pay me tomorrow,'" Patty Banks said.

Friends say the owner Sam Sadruddin was behind the counter when the two suspects came in and one of the then fired the shot that killed him. Paramedics attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"I was thinking all the way in that I hope it wasn't him but I knew it was him. He wouldn't let his wife or anybody else work nights for reasons like this," friend Mike Davis said.

Sadruddin was a fixture in this small community, helping one customer out after another.

"Sam always stepped up, so he made himself a part of this community and we all loved him," customer Janice Watkins said.

So it's only appropriate that on Tuesday, his customers, his friends, returned the favor. Poems, cards, flowers and balloons were all dropped off at the store as a remembrance. Even nearby businesses shared in the grief, that for some was mixed in with anger.

"I'm furious, I hope they catch whoever it is that did this and put him away for life, 'cause he didn't deserve to go like this," Alexis Banks said.

The two men believed to be responsible for the shooting are still on the run. Detectives are looking at surveillance video for clues.

If you have any information regarding this case, you are asked to please call the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit at 936-760-5876 or Montgomery County Crime Stoppers.